Missing Model
by Starshine432
Summary: What was supposed to be a fun night out with friends turns into a crisis when Adrien Agreste goes missing...
1. chapter 1

Ditching his body guard seemed a good idea at the time.

It was a nice evening in the city of Paris, and Adrien had promised Nino to meet him up at the cinema to catch up on a movie.

Nino was super insistent that he should come, he would never stop blabbing on and on about how his older brother was the main character in the movie and how 'flippin awesome' it was going to be.

But apparently, fate had other plans.

He ducked into the subway just as Gorilla turned his back on him, scaling two steps at a time. He checked the time on his watch. 6:09. He was nine minutes late to movie time as it was.

He was about to continue walking, to see if he could board a train when he finally got a good glimpse of where he was.

The train station he had escaped into was old, dusty and abandoned. Some florescent lights were on, while some were either faulty or broken completely.

"Looks like I made a wrong turn." Adrien looked back up the stairs and saw his body guard walk past. He quickly hid behind the staircase, clutching the strap of his satchel, waiting to make sure he wasn't spotted.

"Kid, as much as I wanna partake in your sneaky endeavors to go out for that movie, I really think you should go back to your bodyguard." Plagg piped up after peeking his head from Adrien's black sweater. "Something about this place feels strange."

Adrien looked at his Kwami, wondering if he was kidding about his rebelliousness. But all he was met with was the rare deadpan, serious look Plagg ever gave him.

"Alright Plagg." Adrien got up. "I guess you're right. My father wouldn't want me to go missing again anyway." He stepped out of the shadow of the stairwell, remembering what happened during Christmas time. "And I'd probably be also getting Nino in trouble for 'encouraging me to engage in immoral decadence', whatever that means."

Adrien stepped completely out of the stairwell and was about to proceed climbing up the stairs, deciding whether he should tell Gorilla that his bag a 'accidentally' fell down the steps and he went to retrieve it, or that he missed his step and tumbled down the stairs.

But, before his feet could land on the second step, he was dragged back by his hoody in a haggard manner, the force of the pull sending him to the ground with a heavy thud.

He groaned, rubbing against his head, about to give whoever or whatever dragged him back down a piece of his mind when the black shadow of a fist collided with his face.

He fell back down, his vision swimming, the last thing he saw was a half masked man, before something hard banged against the side of his head.

And his world turned dark.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Marinette, do you have any idea where Adrien is?" Nino asked the bluenette as he was getting impatient and couldn't wait any longer. "I'm pretty sure the ads are over and the movie's about to start."

"Sorry." Marinette shook her head. "I haven't seen him anywhere."

"That's funny." Alya piped in, stifling a giggle. "Judging by the way you stalk his every move, I thought you'd know."

"Hey!" Marinette pouted in playful annoyance.

"What? it's true." Alya raised up her hands in defence. "Girl, you even have his entire schedule for the whole year."

"Whatever." Marinette folded her arms. "But I don't know, honest."

"Alright, I believe you." Alya said then turned to Nino. "Have you tried calling him?"

"Of course I have. But it's like his phone is set on silent or something cause it keeps going to voicemail." He frowned at his phone, then shoved it into his pocket after sending the last of nearly 40 messages.

Suddenly Marinette perked up. "Hey, I have an idea. What if he got held back for some modeling gig and then left his phone at home or something. It's the only reasonable explanation after all."

"That would make sense." Nino said. "But if I know Adrien, which I do, he'd always text me when he knew he wasn't going to make it." He slightly squeezed the tickets in his hand. "Always."

"Uh, Nino , I know you're a bit frustrated at the situation but can you _not_ take your anger out on the tickets. We need those to actually watch the movie." Alya said, swiping the tickets out of Nino's hand.

"And besides, even if we might have missed the movie introduction, we can still catch up on the movie plot." Alya grabbed his and Marinette's wrists, dragging them into the cinema.

She seemed a bit too eager to watch this movie. More eager than him when he first saw the premier.

He looked behind him to see if he could even catch a glimpse of his best friends banana hair. He sighed in disappointment when he wasn't found and turned his attention to the screen room they were about to enter.

He didn't know what it was, but something about Adrien's not showing up didn't sit right in his stomach.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

Nathalie really wanted to bang her head against the edge of her desk.

Frustrations from earlier were building up inside her chest, pushing for it to be let out in one ostentatious scream.

The fact that because of her recent insomnia, she wasn't able to formally attend the usual weekly, at most daily meeting to commemorate on the daily agenda with the staff (which ended up in much unfortunate mishaps with some of Mr. Agreste's important documents), and _then_ some unlucky people got fired, and to top it all off, the akuma, Fire Away (brilliant name by the way Hawkmoth), damaged her tablet and lost nearly all the recent data that had not been backed up by the cloud and was _not_ retrieved back by Ladybugs miraculous cure.

The last thing she needed to hear before she packed up for the night was that Adrien was nowhere to be found.

According to Gorilla, one minute he had turned around to pick up his wallet that had mysteriously fallen out of his pocket, and the next he turned around to see Adrien had disappeared out of sight.

Nathalie had no words to describe her annoyance at his carelessness, but at the same time, she also felt sorry for him. Because Mr. Agreste's reaction was going to be anything but subtle.

She was about to tell him to go and try looking for him again, when Mr. Agreste barged into the office, muttering something incoherent. Not that Nathalie cared anyway, he was always frustrated about one thing or the other.

Gabriel sat down on his chair, going through something on his computer, most likely the reports on the replacement documents that got ruined earlier. It took him five minutes before realizing that Adrien's bodyguard was standing at the other end of the room.

"So." He began, typing away on his laptop. "I trust Adrien has come back home unharmed?" He tapped twice on the mouse pad then looked up, staring patiently at the Gorilla with his elbows on the table and hands clasped in front of him.

Gorilla looked around the room, Nathalie could tell he was trying to escape her bosses daunting gaze.

The silence stretched into a frustrating 30 seconds and she couldn't handle it anymore. Just as she was about to announce the misfortune, Gabriel held up his hand at her, stopping her from whatever she was about to say.

Before she knew it, she had been kicked out of the room (metaphorically speaking) and it took all of her will power to not go back into the office and save Gorilla from his presumed demise.

However, she didn't refrain from eavesdropping on the vocal beat down Mr. Agreste was giving the poor body guard. She also did not refrain from leaving the front of the door as Gorilla sadly left the office, his back hunched up in humiliation and sadness.

She watched him leave, mentally calculating how much more minutes till Hawkmoth would send off his akuma. Probably 2 minutes later, five minutes tops...

Her train of thought was cut off by a loud crash coming from upstairs. A garish roar/cackle was heard as soon as a huge, black gorilla in a business suit jumped into the foyer and left a large dent and crack on the floor.

Apparently, it was five seconds. Hawkmoth definitely did not waste time with this one, almost as if he already had a butterfly flying aimlessly about.

Didn't he have other things to do other than stay awake all evening to night, waiting for someone to get upset?

Her trail of thought cut short again as soon as her senses came back to reality like some kind if automatic self warning system.

And as right as her brain was, she was actually in danger.

Because the Gorilla was now charging at her.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"So, how was the movie?" Nino asked his two friends as they left the screen room to outside the cinema.

"It was pretty good." Marinette commented. "Definitely not Mission Impossible good, but still good though."

"Are you kidding me Mari?!" Alya looked like she was about to yell. "That movie was awesome."

"Oh?" Marinette smirked. "Especially the parts with Ron Kyler in them, right?" Marinette nudged her friend, and Alya playfully pushed her away. "It's alright to crush hard on a celebrity that has no idea you exist Alya. We've all done it."

"Yeah, yeah." Alya jokingly rolled her eyes. "Quit making me seem like a fan girl. I just happen to think he's super hot, for a 19 year old."

"He's 21 Alya." Nino said, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah whatever, he's your super cool, super famous big brother, we get it." Alya said, accompanied with an eye roll. "But still I have to wonder though, why doesn't he use his real name? I don't get it."

"Uh..."

They were soon interrupted by loud screams and people running for their lives in panic, followed by the ferocious roar that revealed it as another akuma situation.

Hawkmoth was really crazy to be akumatizing people at after 8 in the night.

"Whoops! Looks like that story can wait Nino." Marinette hurriedly said, looking around for a place where she could transform. "I need to go to a... a quiet place to call my parents. Bye!" She zoomed off, yelling at Alya and Nino to find a safe place to hide.

Knowing her two friends, Alya was not going to hide and Nino would be following her. But they could take care of themselves as long as they stayed hidden while doing whatever it is they did.

She tore into an empty screen room, checking for any civilians. There were non.

"Tikki, time to transform."

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug yelled out, throwing her lucky charm into the air and letting the miraculous cure fix any damage caused by the Hong Kong sized akuma.

Soon her earring started to beep, alerting her of her limited time. Right before any reporter could stop her, she swung away, landing in what seemed like an abandoned subway station.

She detransformed and sighed, catching Tikki in her hands and giving her a cookie to munch on.

Marinette was really tired and worn out, especially because Chat Noir hadn't shown up, making the battle extra long and tiring.

"Why do you think he didn't show up Tikki?" She asked her Kwami. "Chat Noir almost nearly never misses an akuma battle, especially when patrol is only minutes away."

"Relax Marinette." Tikki tried calming her chosen down. "I'm sure Chat has a reasonable explanation. He has a life too you know, maybe you can ask him during patrol. He never misses those."

"Yeah you're right Tikki." She nodded and began her walk towards the stairwell. "I dunno why I'm being so sk- _wooah!!_ " Marinette's sentence got cut short as she tripped over something and landed on the floor.

"Ow." She grabbed the side of her head. "What was that?" She got to her feet, turning around to check what she tripped on.

She hadn't been more confused and scared about something in her life.

She picked up the silver-blue satchel by the strap, and examined it to confirm it's possessor. And as right as she was, she wished she wasn't.

"Adrien's bag?!"


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien woke up as soon as he felt a sharp stinging sensation hit his face like a quick blow to the head.

His eyes shot open and soon he found himself in what looked like a dusty, old basement, with the walls looking like they were made of metal. He looked around at the unfamiliar place. What was he doing here?

And just like that, the events of what previously happened rushed to the forefront of his mind like a tsunami wave, and he soon remembered what had occurred.

He had been kidnapped.

His face grew cold due to the cool water that ran over his face. Where was he? And who took him?

"Hello?" He called out to the empty space he occupied, but was replied by the silence that lingered for a long time till he assumed he was alone in the room.

Adrien let this thought wonder through his mind. He looked down and saw that he was sitting on a chair, both wrists bound to the armrests and constricting his movement.

He tried moving his arms to see if they were even a little loose. But unfortunately, the ropes were very tight and felt like they were even cutting off the flow of blood in his arms. And any further struggling might bruise his wrists.

So he waited. Waited for whoever had woken him up.

Waited for whoever and whatever was coming for him any second from then.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"Hold on Mari." Alya stopped Marinette as she was babbling uncontrollably about something with Adrien as they were headed to their class. "Deep breaths. Repeat from the top."

"Okay." Marinette inhaled and exhaled. "I found Adrien's bag."

"And..."

"That's it." Marinette blinked at her best friends blank reaction. "This is a really big deal Alya. What was his bag doing down in an abandoned subway?"

"Hmmm..." Alya tapped on her chin. "That _is_ a mystery that needs solving. But I'm sure his dad has some top notch detectives doing that already."

They reached their seats and sat down. "Although, he might not really be missing." Alya theorized. "He may just have gotten lost on his way, maybe we'll see him today in class."

"Yeah Alya, but what if-"

"No 'what ifs' for now okay?" Alya shushed her. "Relax girl. Someone is only declared kidnapped if there was a ransom note, or... some sort of evidence."

"But wh-"

" _And,_ someone's only confirmed missing if their gone for exactly a specific amount of time. So no biggie girl, I'm sure everything will be okay."

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

 _"Breaking News. Adrien Agreste, son of Paris own Gabriel Agreste has been reported missing."_

That was all that had been ringing in Marinette's head after tuning into the news channel. Contrary to what Alya had theorized, Adrien did not come back to school and neither the students and staff nor the Agreste household knew of his location or whereabouts.

 _"...Marinette Dupain- Cheng, a classmate of his reported on finding the models misplaced bag in an abandoned subway station on-"_ Marinette turned down the volume, turning away from her computer screen.

"This cannot be happening..." Marinette groaned. Tikki was sitting on top her head, patting it. "I have to do something." She said, determination finding its way into her being."I can help look for him."

"That's the spirit." Tikki cheered. "Just say the words!"

"Tikki, spots-"

"Marinette!" Her mother yelled from downstairs, interrupting what was supposed to be her transformation sequence. "Come downstairs! Mr. Agreste and the police want to see you."

"Coming mom!" Marinette answered. "What do you think they're doing here Tikki?"

"I dunno. Maybe it has to do with you finding Adrien's bag in that subway station."

"Maybe." Marinette walked down the stairs to the living room where she saw Adrien's dad and some female detective she didn't recognize.

"Hello, um... good afternoon sir. You... needed me?"

"Yes." The detective stood up before he could. "Detective Bonnete Renaud. We need to ask you some questions at the station. You seem to be one of the people closest to Adrien."

The station? Was she under custody or something?

She averted her gaze to her parents who's expression was like hers except low key obvious.

The detective Bonnete, like she read their minds quickly coughed. "Do not worry, you are not under police custody. We only wish to ask you some questions to aid in his search. Two of his friends are already there."

Marinette felt a nudge from her purse, it was Tikki. Well, she did say she wanted to help find him, it mustn't necessarily mean she should help as Ladybug.

"Alright, I'll go." She said, mind set on finding the love of her life.

"Good." Mr. Agreste said, standing up. "The car is waiting outside. Thank you for letting us have her." He said to her parents. "We won't be long."

And with that, they left to the station. Marinette, set prepared for any question they threw at her.

As long as she helped.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

Adrien didn't have to wait long.

He had to wait _very_ long. Preferably for what felt like 12 hours.

And the worst part was that he couldn't sleep. He wanted to be alert and alive so he could plot his move immediately his kidnappers come into view. That... and they kept on dunking him with cold water every time he dozed off. And every time he woke up, he would wake up to an empty room, void of any other human being, which he found a bit weird.

During his third dunking, which was two hours or so after the second one, Plagg decided to rise from his sleep and keep him company. The little guy had been sleeping in his sweater the entire time. Adrien wanted to transform and get the heck out, but then Plagg pointed out that there was no way that Adrien could transform when Plagg had no energy in him.

Before Adrien could start worrying, Plagg tried to 'reassure' him that he could phase through the walls to get out, but once he'd phased trough the wall, he'd hardly be able to fly again. He said he was tired, felt sick and was running low on cheese. Adrien had groaned at how that didn't lighten his tense nerves and had also wondered why Plagg was so drained.

That was hours ago after which Plagg fell asleep once more and he remained detained in the chair.

Now, as three suited men walked into the room, one wearing white while the other two wore black, he knew lingering questions were about to be answered.

"Glad to see you're awake." The guy in white said, presumably The boss. The other two men stood stoic, both standing on each side of him.

Adrien glared at them. "Who are you? What do you want with me? Why are you keeping me here?" He blurted out louder than expected.

"You're just full of questions aren't you?" The boss chuckled, his expression turning dark afterwords."Too bad I won't be answering any of them. Because I have no pleasure in hearing them." He snapped his fingers, and the two guys beside him started moving towards Adrien.

He hadn't noticed that they were both holding more ropes and duck tape.

And without warning, his legs were tied to the legs of the chair , and the rope was tied around his torso to the back rest, rendering him completely immobile, despite his fruitless struggles.

The guy on his other side punched his face and secured his mouth with duck tape. He groaned his muffled detests at them which only humored The boss.

"Now." The boss began, bringing out Adrien's phone from his suit pockets. Adrien gasped. "I think it's time to call your father. From what the news says, he's really missing you."

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

Nathalie checked the security system monitor on her desk to check when Gabriel had come back.

The man was just entering the mansion, looking more stressed than usual. He barged into the office, dropped his phone on her desk and went out without a word.

She sighed and went back to what she was doing. About to beat her high score on Minesweep.

Mr. Agreste returned ten minutes later and took a seat at his desk, staring tiredly at emails he knew Nathalie didn't want to check. Some seconds passed, and at just that moment his phone rang.

Nathalie sighed and paused the game, it was most likely the contractors again. Those were the only calls she ever got these days. She picked up Gabriel's phone to check caller ID. She gasped.

It was definitely not the contractors.

"Sir, you're-"

"Just help me with the call Nathalie, tell the contractors-"

"Sir it's _not_ the contractors." She raised her voice slightly. Mr. Agreste looked up from what he was doing and frowned. At least he was listening. "It's... It's Adrien."

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"Hello Mr. Agreste." the masked man on the screen said. He was the only one they could see so far.

Nathalie saw Gabriel scowl, one of those moments when he got aggressively emotional. "Where's Adrien?"

The man laughed, giving some kind of hand signal to the person holding the phone. "Relax Gabriel, Adrien's here and safe." The view shifted from the man to where they both saw Adrien gagged by tape and tied to a chair. He looked slightly scared, frustrated and worried.

"For now."

"Adrien. Don't worry, I'll get you out of there." Her boss said reassuringly. "What do you want?"

"Ah, what a question." The masked man tapped his chin. "What _do_ I want? I dunno Gabriel, maybe my LIFE BACK?!"

"What are you talking about? Do I know you?"

"How can you be so naive." The man removed his mask, revealing his identity to them. "You didn't think I would come back?"

"No..." He breathed. "Felix?"

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"Yes." The boss, whom Adrien now knew as Felix as confirmed by his dad said. "Remember me now?" Felix asked, shock colouring his dad's face.

Adrien was most likely as confused as he was because the only Felix he ever knew about was his cousin, who was just 18 years of age and wasn't looking like he had turned 48 over night.

"You..." His fathers eyes widened. "You're supposed to be dead."

 _What???_

"Yes I am." Felix chuckled. "But it doesn't matter what I'm meant to be. Do you want your kid back or not?"

His father glared at Felix from the other side of the screen. "Of course I want my son back."

"Great! You canseehim again, whole and hearty if you want... _if_ you hand over 80 of your company to moi."

"What?"

Felix snapped his fingers and one of his goons held a gun to Adrien's head. "I think you heard me. Now, do you accept or decline." The goon used the gun to push against Adrien's head to accentuate his point.

Mr. Agreste looked like he was about to burst.

"Or..." Felix walked towards Adrien and snatched off the duck tape. "Adrien, what do you think?"

"Firstly... ow!" He growled. "Secondly, I'll tell you what I think. You're psycho and my father will never give up his company to the likes if you."

"You sure have a sharp mouth don't you pretty boy?" Felix glanced at him.

"Adrien..." His dad sighed.

"No father, the company matters so much to you." Adrien pleaded.

"But not as much as you. Companies can be replaced and rebuilt, but I cannot replace you." Gabriel said, he averted his attention to Felix. "I accept your demands."

"Glad you came to your senses." Felix chuckled. "I'll meet at your place tomorrow at 22:00 to negotiate. There better not be any police there or..." He made a hand gun and pointed it to Adrien, making a gunshot noise with his mouth.

And with that, he turned the phone off and tossed it somewhere on the floor. Adrien was sure it would've broken, judging by how expensive and fragile his phone was.

But not like he cared about his phone when his father was about to loose everything he's worked for most if his life. Everything his dad had built from scratch torn away from him and it was all his fault. He could feel Plagg's snoring in his sweater pockets, it was faint and slow.

Plagg was barely moving in there, and he was starting to think that Plagg was actually sick and wasn't kidding because of his natural laziness. He hadn't woken up for hours or demanded for cheese like he usually did. Just great.

Add that to the list if things to deprecate himself for.

A few minutes passed since he was alone again. Felix said something about coming back soon but his focus was on Plagg the entire time.

He felt Plagg shift in his pocket, before seeing the Kwami peeking from inside it. "Is the coast clear?" He whispered audibly enough for him to hear.

"Plagg, are you okay? You've been quiet for a really long time." Adrien babbled. "Do you need some Camembert?"

"Nope, not hungry." The Kwami shook his head and flew out, dropping on top of Adrien's lap as soon as he did.

Adrien gasped. "Who are you and what have you done with Plagg?"

Plagg shook his head tiredly. "Listen kid, if you're done acting like an Adrien I need to tell you just one thing."

"What's that?" he asked, ignoring the somewhat snide remark that Plagg threw at him.

"I know how you can get outta here _and_ save your fathers company."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I just said so." Plagg rolled his eyes.

"Stop being such a Plagg and tell me already." Adrien said smugly.

"Touché." Plagg smirked. "I'm going to start by calling Ladybug now."

"Wait, what?!" Adrien exclaimed."You can do that without the ring?"

"Of course I can, but I might have to reveal your identity so I hope you don't mind."

"But Lady-"

"I wasn't asking a question. Now shut up. Someone's coming, so I'm gonna hide while I call her." Plagg said and dove back into the pockets.

At just that moment, one of the goons came into the room holding a tray table with a plate of salad on it. The man untied only one of his arms and went outside the room.

"Well, at least they're feeding ya." Plagg piped up from his pocket.

"Whatever, I'm not hungry anyways." Adrien said, collecting the fork with his free hand and gently pushing the tray table away.

"You've been in here for too long, and you're gonna need that." Plagg scolded.

"Yeah? I've gone a 24hrs without food and only drank water for the whole day. Try me." Adrien said, examining the fork. "And aren't you meant to be calling Ladybug Plagg?"

"I am, but she's not picking. She might not have detransformed yet." Plagg said, eyes drooping. "I can only call her in this form when she's... detransformed." He yawned.

"Alright sleepy head, you can try again as soon as you wake up okay?"

But Plagg was already in dreamland, not even noticing that Adrien was saying something. Adrien smiled at the sight and patted the pocket where Plagg was sleeping. "While you do that, I'm gonna break us out of here and get you help." He said to no one in particular and twisted the forks thongs into the rope and pulled as hard as he could, using the edge of the fork as a knife.

"Come on." He grumbled when the fork bent a little. He still used it anyway.

The rope started to loosen.

After he was sure he wouldn't bruise his wrists if he tried to shake out of it, he pulled his second arm out. "Yes!" he pumped his fist in the air. He could already taste the freedom.

He bent down to work on untying his legs, which he successfully did.

"Yes!" he yell whispered. "I'm out Plagg. They should've thought twice before giving me that fork." He laughed, failing to notice the looming shadow over him. Someone grabbed his shoulder.

"Yes, we should've."


	4. Chapter 4

Quick A/N: So I just finished rereading chapter three and noticed there were some errors. (its not that easy typing on phone.) Like, where I wrote 80, there was meant to be a 'percent' right after.

So, sorry if there are any further mistakes or omissions.

Here's chapter 4.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

Ladybug leaped gracefully into her room, through the trap door and detransformed as soon as she landed straight on her bed, Tikki landing on the pillows beside her.

It was yet another uneventful patrol without Chat Noir and Marinette was beginning to get worried. Not only has Adrien gone missing (or kidnapped, according what the detective had said at the station), but Chat had also mysteriously disappeared, which was weird that she stopped seeing him the same night she found Adrien's misplaced bag.

Maybe he was out looking for Adrien too and had some leads on where he actually was... but then, wouldn't he have called her? Unless...

"Marinette!" Tikki piped up from where she sat, on top of her bed, munching on a cookie she got from her purse.

"Tikki?" She stared confusingly at her, wondering why she had called her like that.

"I'm getting a phone call, from Chat's Kwami."

"Chat's Kwami?!" Marinette gaped at her. "How? I'm not transformed yet."

"Well, I _might_ have not told you one fact about us." Tikki said. "We can sense each other's aura and emotions even from far away. That way, we'll know when the other is in distress or in trouble."

"Wow Tikki, that's amazing!" Marinette smiled and folded her legs as she sat. "So, what does his Kwami say?"

"Uhm... hold on." Tikki frowned. "Really? I should tell her now?"

"Who are you-"

"Shhhh." Tikki flew and held a hand (flipper?) to Marinette's face. "Oh no... ... okay." She sighed, then turned to face her chosen. "I have to tell you something about Adrien."

"Isn't it Chat Noir you just called?"

Tikki smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, about that..."

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

So... his escape plan had been thwarted and apparently, he was so screwed.

As soon as Felix (He was still not going to get used to the name) had caught him escaping, he was knocked out. Finding himself in a completely different, much, _much_ smaller room when he had woken up. His hands and neck were cuffed and chained to the floor in a way he could barely kneel upwards. And his sweater and over shirt was gone so he was really cold and freezing, it felt like the room was below 18 degrees. The room was also nearly close to pitch black so he could hardly see the floor, not to talk of the exit out of the place.

And he was certain he'd stayed there overnight and it was most likely morning time already, maybe 2:00AM

There was no way he was getting out now.

He could feel Plagg shiver underneath his shirt, his body warmth was doing little for him.

"Plagg..." Adrien whispered, his breath shaky from the cold. "Plagg... I-I'm so, so sorry. I j-just made it worse."

"I-It's okay Adrien. You w-weren't expecting to g-get caught, or be p-put in a freezer."

"Yeah... but now I can barely see or feel anything. And you sound worse than before." He sighed. "Hey, did you end up contacting LB?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah... but there's a p-problem."

"Problem?"

"She knows you're identity now, but if she is to track you it won't be as effective or as fast than when you're transformed. She'd be using a GPS by then. If she's tracking you now, it might take a week or at least 3 days."

"Oh no...But I can't transform. What will happen if I transform with you in this state?" Adrien asked, worried for the sick Kwami. "I don't want you to get worse."

"I'm a strong Kwami kid, I can take anything." Plagg sneezed.

They're conversation was cut short as the heavy, iron door was pulled open and a dark figure came in. Soon enough the lights came on, blinding him for a while because he had been in the dark for too long.

Adrien didn't need to look up, because he already knew who it was. He felt the temperature rise, as the room was not as cold as before. He must've turned up the thermostat.

"Hello Adrien." The familiar, annoying voice said from above him. Adrien chose to remain as he was, with his head faced down ignoring him out of spite.

"What's wrong blondie?" Felix asked, grabbing a handful of Adrien's hair and forcing him to look up at at Felix "No clever words for me today?"

Adrien winced as he pulled on his hair tighter, expecting him to say something. But Adrien remained silent and only glared at him.

This amused Felix and he chuckled, letting go of Adrien's hair. "Good to know you're better off keeping your mouth shut-"

"You won't get away with this." Adrien said, cutting him short. "Once Ladybug, or the authorities or my father finds you, they will end you."

Felix stared at him, bemused for some reason. "That's a cute thought." he smirked. "But that will only happen if some miracle occurs between now and 22:00. And by then, I'd have gone to another continent _with_ you and his assistant."

"W-with me?" Adrien frowned.

"Of course! You didn't actually think I'd give you back to your father did you?" He laughed. "That fool didn't know what he was going to get for ripping me away from my kid. Now he will feel my pain."

He shook his head as if he was trapped in a nightmare. "That's not fair play. You made a deal-"

"He should've thought twice before making a deal with the devil."

"You... you...what does Nathalie have to do with this?" Adrien's heart was beating two times faster.

"Well... I'm going to need an assistant won't I?" He laughed heading out the door. "I'm gonna see you at 22:00. Get comfortable, it's gonna get chilly at just about... now." He shut the door closed and the temperature dropped.

Adrien stared at the door before the place was plunged into darkness again.

Plagg flew out of Adrien's shirt to face the boy. He was facing the floor, his eyes were shut... and is that a _tear?_

Plagg wasn't having any of it.

"Kid, are you... have you given up already?" he flew closer to his face. That _was_ a tear.

"Who are you and what have you done with Adrien?" Plagg frowned, using the little of his energy to lift up his face. "The Adrien that was picked to be my chosen would never, _ever_ give up."

Adrien cleaned the tear that managed to escape. "Plagg I-"

"Plagg nothing..." He scolded. "Unless you're gonna say 'claws out' right after." Plagg exhaled and dropped back into Adrien's shirt out of tiredness.

"You're too weak for that." Adrien said.

"No way. If you don't get out now, then when? When you're half way across the world?"

Adrien shook his head. "There's no way I'm hurting you Plagg."

Boy was he stubborn.

"Well then, if you won't transform, then I'll fly outta here myself."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh yeah? Watch me." Plagg flew feebly out of Adrien's shirt towards the door. Then he phased through it.

"Plagg?" Adrien called out, the only reply he was getting was the eerie silence. "Plagg? You can come out, its not funny anymore... someone might see you!" He waited a while, the silence eating at his insides. Until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Plagg... claws out."

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"Wow." Ladybug sighed as she leaned on her balcony, looking over the sleeping city. Her mind was still trying to process what Tikki had told her some hours ago.

So Adrien is Chat Noir? Unbelievable.

But yet so true.

How could she not have seen it before? All those times Chat would peck her hand, flirt with her, call her M'lady and throw around stupid puns, it was all Adrien. The love of her life.

Wow.

Adrien is Chat... Chat is Adrien...

OMG.

She held her hand to her head. Her recent insomnia was due to the mind boggling, mind blowing news that Tikki had told her. Two completely different people, were the same person. And they were both in danger.

And what was she doing about it?

She shook her head and checked the time on her yoyo. 2:30AM already. She should really go to bed if she wanted to go school early.

But as she was about to close the latch, a green notification popped up on her screen. One that usually showed so that one will know when the other is transformed.

Was Chat transformed?

She tapped on the notification and a map of Paris popped up. She scanned the map, finally noticing a blinking green dot before it disappeared.

"No no no no no no no. No!" she shook the yoyo. "Adrien." She sulked. Just when she had his location, it just-

Her yoyo beeped again, showing the green dot on the map once more. "Chat!" she yelped, and in surprised panic, she quickly took a screenshot before it disappeared again.

She took a good look at the screenshot of where Chat's location was.

"Parc de Bagatelle.." she read out. "...huh, never heard of it."

Ladybug decided that she'd ask Alya about it tomorrow as she was now feeling insanely sleepy. Detransforming, she carried a sleepy Tikki in her hands and went off to her bed, determined to find Chat/Adrien as soon as possible.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"Claws in." Adrien whispered, watching as Plagg flew out of the ring and onto his lap. "I can't believe you made me do that Plagg, you really scared me there. I actually thought you had gone." He sighed. "Just don't do that again, okay buddy?"

Adrien stared at Plagg's still, unmoving figure. "Buddy?" He called again, but Plagg was not responding. "Plagg you can get up now, it's not funny." He tried sounding like he was angrily scolding but truth be told, he was freaking out inside.

"Plagg..." He picked him up and hugged him close to his face before tucking him into the folds if his T-shirt. "This is all my fault." he sniffed. "I hope whatever is happening to you was worth it." He let out a breath as the temperature dropped again.

It seemed to be doing so every thirty minutes.

He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep warm under the unruly conditions he was kept in. Plagg still lay unmoving, although he was breathing, slowly, but still breathing.

Adrien didn't know how long a Kwami could survive having fevers.

But he hoped it was long enough.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"Hey girl." Marinette was greeted by Alya, the dark skinned girl wrapping her arms around her shoulder ad they walked to class. "You came early today. What's up?"

"Nothing. Can't a girl just decide she wants to come early to school without her bff thinking there's something up?" Marinette said tiredly, using her elbow to prop herself up. Gosh was she tired.

"No, she can't." Alya pointed a finger at her. "So, what kept you up last night? You look like you got only a few hours of sleep."

Marinette smiled inwardly. She didn't know the half of it. "Oh I was just up late at night thinking..." she shrugged.

"About what?"

"You know... things, Adrien and other... things."

"Uh huh." Alya looked at her strangely.

"Hey Alya... you wouldn't happen to know a Parc de Bagatelle would you?"

"Strange switch of conversation but I think I might recall something like that." Alya held her chin, looking up at the ceiling like it may provide her answers.

"Ooh. I remember now." She snapped her fingers and brought out her phone. "The secret garden located way deep in the forest of Bois de Boulogne. Protected by an ancient stone wall." Alya gave her phone to Marinette to take a look at the photos. "Designed by Scotsman Blaikie after the Ango- Chinese model. It's open till five or something. Do you plan on going?"

"No, I was just wondering. Wow... this place is beautiful. What would Adrien be doing there though?"

"What was that?" Alya frowned at Marinette. "Something about Adrien?"

Marinette's pupils dilated. She didn't know she had said that last part so loud. "I-I said, I... wonder if Adrien would like to go there...?"

"I don't think you're-"

"Hey dudettes!" Nino announced his presence to the two girls, cutting short their conversation just in time. He started blabbing to Alya about something he saw on Netflix that she should check out. Alya gave Nino her attention, but still sent Marinette that _we're-not-finished-yet_ look with her eyes.

Marinette gave her a cheery thumbs up, mindset on checking out that Secret Garden as soon as possible.

 **mlb~mlb~mlb**

Marinette was supposed to check out the Boulogne Woods immediately after school, but unfortunately for her, an akuma intervened, calling herself Tsunami and reeking havoc on Paris by causing floods.

Tsunami was a strong adversary, but Ladybug was stronger. But not as strong without her Chat Noir though, but still stronger.

As soon as Ladybug had broken the akumatized object, which was a sea shell necklace, she released her miraculous cure and cleansed the akuma.

She was not in the mood for an interview with the news reporters so she swung away before they could get any coverage. She knew they were just doing their jobs, but it was always the same old question they'd been asking her for the past few days. "Where is Chat Noir?"

She ducked into an alley and released her transformation. Catching Tikki in time and keeping her in the purse where she kept a small batch of cookies.

"Eat up quick Tikki. My parents need me in an hour to help in a delivery." Marinette said, walking casually out of the alleyway and checking the time. "4:00... did the fight really take that long?" She soliloquizes and strolled into her home, greeting her parents and rushing up stairs.

"Done Marinette." Tikki flew out of the purse. "Let's transform."

"Awesome Tikki. Spots on!" She yelled, letting the transformation engulf her and enhance her senses, skills and instincts.

She went through her trap door and onto the roof checking her phone's map and preparing her yoyo for lift off.

"Alright, Secret Garden, here I come!" she swung her yoyo to where the map said it would be. "I'm coming for you Adrien."

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

Ladybug landed in some part in Boulogne Woods, the sound of birds chirping and bugs filling the air with their incessant buzzing of their wings.

She walked around, not knowing where to start and where to begin. "Ancient stone wall... Ango- Chinese..." She began walking, trusting in her luck and her yoyo to lead her to where she wanted to go. She walked around, stumbling upon red compass with black spots dotting it. The rims were covered in a gold frame. "Ladybug inspired compass? Well this could be useful." She said to no one in particular and wrapped her yoyo around it, securing it around her waist and continuing her search.

"Hmm... if I remember anything from what Alya said, the Garden should be open around this time to... five. So..." She looked around, hoping to spot what she was looking for-

"Ladybug?"

"Huh?" She turned around upon hearing her name. It was a civilian.

Exactly what she needed.

"You're Ladybug!" The brunette lady who looked to be in her mid twenties said in surprise. "Can you sign this picture for me? I'm a huge fan." She brought out a black felt-tip pen and gave it to Ladybug who hurriedly signed and returned the pen.

"Thank you Ladybug." She smiled widely, keeping the pen and signed photo in her fanny pack. "Hey, what're you doing out here? Uh, sorry to ask if it's not my business."

"Oh, it's okay." Ladybug waved it off. "Actually, I could ask you the same question. I doubt anyone would wonder around the woods for no reason."

"No no. I'm actually looking for something my little sister lost when we were coming back from-"

"Parc de Bagatelle?"

The stranger gasped. "Yeah...you're going there too?" She asked. "I-I can take you there, if you're looking for the place."

"That would be nice. Thank you." Ladybug smiled.

"Anything for the hero of Paris. I'm Shirley by the way." She began searching her fanny pack, pupils dilating as she gasped. "Oh no." Shirley face palmed. "I'm sorry Ladybug. I forgot my compass at home and we need one to get there."

"Oh..." Ladybug sighed holding her chin. "Aha!" she snapped her fingers upon remembering something. "I have a compass right here." She removed the compass she previously found and handed it to Shirley. "Well, its not really mine since I just found it on the floor."

"My sisters compass! This is what I've been looking for! Thanks for finding it Ladybug."

"Nah, it wasn't any trouble." Ladybug shrugged.

"Alright. Let's go to the garden." Shirley looked intricately at the compass before pointing to an angle on her left. "This way!"

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

"Alright sir, I'm on my way." Nathalie dropped her phone and sighed.

Mr. Agreste was expecting her to attend an exclusive charity event they were both invited to. They were going to have to act like nothing was going on, like Adrien wasn't missing, like the company wasn't about to crumble beneath their feet.

She was called nearly last minute, and had little time to get prepared. Slipping on a black fitting Chignon dress to match with her red Channel purse. The appointed limo hired by her boss had picked her up minutes after and was now driving through La Campagne A Paris, a private, exquisite street at Place Octave Chanute.

The place the event was being hosted was only some kilometers away, but yet it felt like she was miles away from her destination. As the buildings moved slowly, Nathalie got bored and decided she should use up her time trying to beat the high score she wasn't able to beat before on Minesweep.

Just as she was about reach the level past her high score, she felt the car jerk and swerve to the left, stopping just in time before it could crash against any surface. The car was silent, the only sound being the heavy pants of their breaths as the dust around the car settled.

"What. Just. Happened?" Nathalie breathed heavily, grabbing the headrest of the car seat so that she wouldn't collapse in panic.

"Th-there was a van obstructing the path ma'am." The chauffer said, obviously still in panic and shock. He pointed ahead to a black van, parked horizontally across the street so that no car was able to pass. "They just came out of nowhere ma'am. It's like they intentionally wanted us to crash into them."

"Or not..." Nathalie's breath hitched as she saw two men masked in black jump out of the back of the van towards them. She started fumbling for her phone in her purse, scrolling through her contacts till she found Gabriel's direct number, the one that wasn't filtered through the secretary. She pressed call and the phone started ringing.

"Out of the car." One of the masked men standing outside the Chauffer's window ordered. "Now."

" _Hello, you've reached Gabriel Agreste's voicemail, please leave a-"_

"Screw you." Nathalie grumbled, cutting off the computerized voice and going to his other direct number that was only meant for close relatives. He didn't know she had it, not that he needed to know. The phone started to ring again.

"Open up!" The man started banging on the door with his gun.

This phone went to voicemail as well, and she cut off the same computerized voice and tried the previous number again. Same voicemail.

The masked man seemed like he'd had enough and decided to kick down the door, successfully doing so and shooting a bullet through the Chauffer's skull, blood leaking from his head as she dropped her phone from the shock and raised a hand to her mouth. "Dear God..."

The man that shot the chauffer pulled the now dead man out of the car and into some rose bushes, taking his place on the drivers seat and not paying Nathalie any attention. Nathalie took this as an opportunity and silently, but stealthily inched closer to the door. Maybe she could make a run for it, if her dress would allow, and most likely run into someone who could help her along the way. She held her breath, slowly reaching for the door to open it.

"Don't even think about it sweetheart." The guy behind the steering wheel interrupted her and soon enough, another masked thug joined her at the back seat, pointing a gun to her head. She gasped and raised up hands, heart beating faster than it ever had.

"Good." The thug wielding a gun to her head nodded at her. "Doncha worry sweet pea, s'long as you don't scream or alert anyone what we're doin' here. I won't shoot."

Nathalie shook her head inwardly at the nickname and decided to shut her mouth as the engine started and the car began moving, following the black van out of the private street.

Although Nathalie was a tad bit frightened at the prospects of what they wanted with her, she couldn't help but thank the heavens for one thing, and that was her phone.

Because she didn't turn off this voicemail.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

Ladybug once again was doing her nightly patrol alone. Mind still pondering why the map sent her to the woods when Chat... Adrien wasn't there.

The only things she saw being the beautiful serenity of Parc de Bagatelle and oddly enough, a black van (the only van.) with a park logo on the back. She assumed it was owned by the park anyway and ended up ending the day with a selfie with Shirley using her yoyo, right where the van was and escorted her home, thanking Shirley for her help once more. When she had gotten back home, her parents were nearly done wrapping up the deliveries and she aided with the rest.

Ladybug looked at Paris from the top of Paris' most treasured monument, the Eiffel tower. The city brimming with light and life even in the night time, yet had so many flaws yet to be discovered. Like, who knew what was going on this night? Someone might currently be kidnapped at right that moment and she would have no idea. She groaned lightly as she felt another dose of insomnia hit her being.

She knew Alya would bug her to shards with messages and calls demanding why she'd been so distant lately. What was going on through that wacky brain of hers?

Marinette figured, in due time, she would tell Alya. Tell her everything and anything she needed to know. But for now, she preferred to keep it to herself.

Right now, Paris (Adrien/ Chat in particular.) needed a hero and she was going to be that.

 ** _mlb~mlb~mlb_**

 **Important A/N please read: So, here's the fourth chapter. The next chapter you'll be getting till I'm gone for 5 weeks or more. In which I will come back and finish the story. I decided not to leave the last part as a complete cliffhanger for readers purposes. BTW, those things about Boulogne Woods and La Campagne A Paris is true cuz I did some research. Thanks for being great fans though. You guys have been my motivation to write. Please be sure to follow and leave a comment if you liked the chapter. (only if u liked it tho. I care not for bad vibes.) Bye for now!**


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